Lunar Phases
by Thaliona
Summary: Post-Breaking Dawn. Utterly alone, one of the last remaining 'true enemies' of the Vampire breed stumbles into Forks with no intention of staying, yet the eclectic population of the town causes her to question all that she has believed for centuries.
1. Not Exactly A Tree Hugger

A/N: Mk. Soooo this is spawned off of the Children of the Moon idea. I'm a fan of the warm and fuzzies so this is just the pilot for a concept I might run with. There's not much too this chapter except an introduction to the main character/'real' werewolf. Not much was given about the 'real' werewolves so I'm planning on doing my own thing based on what information that was given. Anyway, please give reviews if you'd like to see more.

Disclaimer: Pfft. Duh. No.

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For the first time in my lifetime I was lost. Not even the moon was showing her face to me this very night. Crisp air filled my lungs. In. Out. In. Out. Years of practice had made it easy to keep my breathing controlled even as I moved faster than the automobiles I could hear racing on the highway miles away from me. I winced at the sound of twisting metal, squealing breaks and human screams. It was distant but the pity in my gut was very near and dear. Humans…they would never learn that no matter how untouchable their fast cars made them feel they weren't immortal.

The real truth, the truth I knew better than most, was that no one was truly immortal. Ideas, stories…they could be immortal but an individual could run from death for only so long. Some managed to run longer than others. I'd been running for a horribly long time. I wasn't even sure why anymore. There didn't seem to be a point.

And now I was utterly alone. A lost child. Perhaps …an only child.

No..no I refused to believe that. Diana was out there. Lysander was alive. Halima was safe. They would find me. All I had to do was keep running and sooner or later they'd catch up and we'd be together again. We would not be safe but we would be together. Yes. Yes. Sooner or later. They were all safe. They were trying to find me, running fast, running hard so that then we could run as one.

I would not be alone. I would not be lost. Just as long as I kept running myself. Running because it was all we could do. The times of great empires and established cities were long gone. I had been born during this exile, not from a city, but from existence so I had no knowledge of what I was like to be free to live. Diana knew and she had spun such magnificent stories…my eyes watered now at the very thought of her voice. It was like the sound of rumbling earth, deep and throaty, but lulling to the point it had often managed to put me to sleep even when I thought it impossible.

Thinking about Diana, about sleep was making me feel ill. Deep in my core I trembled, longing for familiarity of any kind. There was none here in this wood somewhere in North America. I didn't know if I'd passed from Canada into the US yet but it didn't matter. After a few hundred years everything looked the same. I avoided cities like the plague and some countries entirely. Italy was a death sentence.

There were people nearby. A small town. I had passed a larger one earlier but this was less threatening. Something else was here. Something that unsettled my gut and caused me to nearly stumble. It was sickly sweet, leaving a taste worthy of gagging in the back of my mouth. My first instinct was to run as fast as I could away from this scent. I had wanted something familiar and received it but this was clearly a classic case of 'careful what you wish for.'

I knew what it was now. Them. The Hunters. They were the enemy. They had decided to forfeit our right to live. Instinctively, my lips peeled back over my teeth despite there being no one to see the threat. It was meaningless. I was horrified but my bare feet had become roots in the ground beneath me. A few moments passed before I realized that something other than fear was keeping me in place. Another scent. Something familiar as well.

Wolf. Different than my kind but still wolf and not the animal. Something burned in the back of my throat and with reluctance I realized it was longing. If I called to them would they answer? I have tilted my head back then stopped, lips half parted. Their scents were too heavily mingled with the others. My eyes burned with unshed tears and I knew I was still alone. Anger coursed through my veins with each 

thudding of my heavy heart. I didn't know these wolves or even what they truly were and yet I felt betrayed.

A long moment passed before I realized the low snarl was coming from me. Body tensed I fought the urge to hunt them, punish them whoever they were for siding with the Vampires. Of course, it would be suicide but I didn't care. The truly horrifying thing about going crazy was the time before finally losing it when you were completely aware you were losing your mind. For us, those left of us, it happened before the rising of the full moon that boiled our bloods and drove us mad with dangerous passions. I thought I had at least a week before the wearing on my sanity began but apparently not.

The splintering of wood brought to my attention the poor tree I was mauling. Splinters tried in vain to settle into my fingers but failed miserably. I was mildly annoyed with the prospect of having to pick the bark out from under my nails but there were worse things to accidentally maul. Keeping my hands in the tree, I rested my forehead against the bark, eyes closed and breathing in deeply to try and settle the sour feeling in my stomach. I needed to start running again. It didn't matter where to. Just…somewhere far from here...and then my stomach growled at me and I couldn't ignore the swelling hunger that continued to build.

Running would have to wait. Now, I would feed.


	2. Instinctual Misunderstanding

A/N: Thanks for showing interest. 3 I hope I'm taking this in a direction that will keep ya'll interested.

Disclaimer: Pfft.

It felt like something was trying to gnaw its way out of my gut which was wholly unpleasant but a true testament to how long I'd ignored my hunger. There was a campsite not too far from here. I could smell the food aloft in the trees in an attempt to keep bears from getting it. Clearly, they weren't expecting something of my kind to even exist let alone decide to raid their supplies. It was tempting and I knew even what they did have wouldn't be enough but at least it would hold me over until the next opportunity to eat presented itself. The only problem was I'd feel guilty for stealing.

My face was dirty along with the rest of my small body but not quite as much as the frayed man's plaid button down shirt that fit me like a summer dress and yet my morals were pristine. However, pristine morals wouldn't get me fed and that was my top priority at the moment.

What else…what else…there were deer but childish excitement diverted my resolve to hunt them so I could leave this area quicker. Now that I'd given into my animalistic driven hunger, I wanted something bigger with more fight to it. I was almost jittery now, shoulders slightly trembling with the notion of a true hunt. Losing control was naturally not a good thing but I found myself wanting to creep closer to that fine line as my feet carried me effortlessly over tree roots and other undergrowth.

As I ran, my plan for the next thirty minutes or so of my life played out in my mind. Step one, find a bear. Step two, hunt the bear. Step three, eat. Step four, run as far away as possible from this place because it absolutely reeked of Vampire. Despite not being in a completely logical thinking state of mind, the plan seemed fairly fool proof. However, so many other plans had seemed fool proof and had failed quite miserably. Yet, Instinct was on my side. It was no longer pulling me away but instead forward.

Instinct. It was more than just a simple inclination as with humans. Ignoring Instinct was an almost certain death sentence. That wasn't to say Instinct could always be a saving grace, but it was still the unseen guiding hand that all surviving Children of the Moon owed their lives to, myself included. So we listened and lived by our Instinct, our only connection to one another in this world in which we'd been torn apart and scattered like the petals of a flower to the unloving winds.

Blinded by both my hunger and my faith in Instinct, I continued to plunge deeper into what must be the territory of the traitors. I would be gone before they could smell me anyway. The possibility that they could already be patrolling seemed slight and perhaps their Vampire masters required them for a game of demeaning fetch. Obviously living in such close proximity, scents mingling but no smell of blood or smoke to rid the world of the Vampires only confirmed my suspicions and spurred my disdain.

But I was not here to fight and used the rage to speed up even more so that I may follow the path Instinct was creating even faster. My stomach was still growling but I was too caught up in a chase I didn't know what the quarry was too pay it any attention. All that I felt was a sense of urgency. I had to run faster and faster. This wasn't like before where I was simply running. This time Instinct was taking me somewhere and I had to get there soon. I had to get there now. Unfortunately, I didn't know where I had to be but sooner or later I'd get there. It was all I could think about. Instinct overwhelmed my senses and thoughts. It was almost as bad as the full moon, but at least it wouldn't drive me too far over the edge. If need be I could stop myself. Hopefully. If Instinct willed it at least.

The thrill of the chase was too much. In a fit of madness, I did the unthinkable and howled, declaring my presence to anything with ears. It started as a low and mournful note only to pick up and carry through the forests like a haunting melody leaving an echo in its wake. Much to my horror I was answered. The howl was not nearly as enchanting as mine. No, no it was something rougher, more like an actual wolf's howl. Then, from the other side another howl sounded followed by yet another off to my right. Instinct loosened its grip on my senses and now I realized too late that the traitor wolves had surrounded me. I snarled, furious at myself for being so foolish. Instinct had failed! It was yet another betrayal that scalded me, burning me so badly more tears of fear and frustration stung my eyes.

I did not want to die. Not like this and not here. Most importantly I didn't want to die alone. Selfish as that was it occurred to me in the following moments that it was was easier to live alone with the hope of it being only a temporary state than to die alone without any hope at all. I kept running. Nothing could stop me, and right now not even the traitorous Instinct that was trying to keep me in place. Perhaps it had only led me to an easier death than the one more waiting would bring. Perhaps it had given up like so many others of my kind had, if that was the case than I would mourn appropriately but not now. I had yet to give up. I would not die lost or alone.

It took a great deal of focus to pretend to be fearless. I liked that amount of focus but at least I was not cowering in the middle of the circle formed by massive wolves I'd found myself in. Instinct told me to stay calm, to wait but every other fiber in my being told me to find the weakest link in the circle and break through. They didn't move in any closer but I still hunkered down, peeling my lips back over my teeth in a hushed snarl. When I finally snarled in full force a few backed up, managing not to whine but their sudden jolt of fear fed my aggression. There was the weak spot I needed to escape. From the corner of my eye, I watched them, waiting for the right moment. Even thinking about acting against Instinct was making me feel awfully dizzy, but this couldn't be right so I kept fighting it until even my vision started to blur.

Why weren't they attacking yet? What were they waiting for? Again, I started to control my breathing, trying to stay calm enough so that I could do what was necessary to remove myself from this situation. It was time to go when there was another howl not too far from this little gathering. A ripple of anticipation surged through the wolves and I think I'd found my answer as to what they were waiting for. I wasn't about to stay to see if I was right which Instinct was telling me so which only cemented my resolve to leave.

I took my chances, clearing my head for a moment so that I could spin around and lunge at the weak arch in the circle. There was a collective snarl around me but none louder than the very sound I emitted. The two wolves that I was attempting to lunge between tried desperately not to drop their brave front but it was obvious they hadn't met anything quite like me. Not human. Not vampire. Not one of their own. And now I was charging them, hands extended, teeth bared, snarling like a rabid dog. Too late did I realize another body was colliding with mine, a set of sharp teeth trying to pierce the flesh of my shoulder. Hah! As if he could actually bite into my skin! And then I felt the first trickle of blood, a surge of pain and my world was rocked. He'd broken skin. My skin. Worse, I did not hear any whimpering that should follow when something came in contact with my hot blood. Nothing. He shook me once, dragging my away from the cowering wolves and in my state of shock I let him.

What were these things?

My head was throbbing as it never had before with every noise, every little gasp of a breeze and especially the irritated whining of the wolves around me, sounded like incessant screaming. Apparently, Instinct had not wanted me to try and flee so I was being punished for my impudence. On top of the head ache, I felt as if I was about to throw up even though there was nothing in my stomach with which to do so. And still my shoulder was in the mouth of this betrayer. I somehow heard the panting of maybe four more wolves coming to join my current captors. In a daze, I guessed that they would be here within a few seconds, at most minutes. Then would this brute be allowed to rip me to shreds while Instinct left me unable to even squirm in response? That had to be it. Or so I thought but I'd been wrong many times before. Today was a good example of that.

I couldn't see the new wolves. The big one that was chewing on my shoulder had jerked me down so the only thing I could see was the dirt beneath me. A massive paw was stepping on my back to keep me on the ground while he shifted his grip from my shoulder to lightly around my neck to keep me from trying to escape. With great shame, I accepted the fact that there were tears in my eyes, streaking down my cheeks and being absorbed by the mother earth that I was confident would soon soak up my blood. I could tell if the wolves' anxiety was due to my presence or my treatment but I assumed the first. Confusion added itself to the mix of high emotions. Morbid curiosity tainted the new wolves but that wasn't all.

It wasn't from all of them, just one, but there was pure, unadulterated fury. I didn't understand it in the least. As far as I was aware, I hadn't done anything yet to invoke such a wrath but then it occurred to me the rage wasn't directed at me. I knew this for a fact because I could hear the shuffling of paws as the circle was broken. The rumbling of the wolf holding me down sent a tremor through my body but I did not cry out even as I felt the sharp tips of the teeth press ever so harder against my neck. A snarl followed, not from me, but from the wolf who'd passed through the barrier. I still didn't understand but I wasn't trying to. I just wanted to be let go of. I wanted to run even if Instinct was still keeping me here, still making me feel ill enough to have left me defenseless enough in the first place so that now I had to be defended by a stranger.

There were more snarls and then after a long period of silence human voices. Shifters? All of this was so very confusing and troubling. Diana or Lysander would know what was going on but I surely didn't. Neither of them would have been as stupid as to have gotten into this situation either. No…they would have left at the first scent of Vampire. Face pressed against the dirt I waited for something, anything to happen just for the sake of not having to linger in this state of uncertainty. I zoned back into the conversation going on in front of me but even though my English was near perfect I still wasn't sure what they were talking about. That was, until the hit a topic I knew all the vocabulary and the history of.

"…it's possible…"

"They said that they'd been hunted to almost extinction."

"In Europe and Asia."

"…but…here?"

I nearly howled again, not wanting to speak but not wanting them to continue to remind me of the decimation of my people. The teeth tightened. The other wolf in the circle snarled, moving forward so that now I could feel his hot breathe on my neck as well, mingling with the threatening teeth. It was…a comfort. My eyes widened at the sensation, each breathe seemed to spread through my body soothingly as Instinct accepted it as if it were a part of me.

Something else was said but I was too consumed by this new feeling of completion I didn't hear it. A weight was lifted off my back and soon the pressure around my neck vanished as well. The hot breathes did not. Nuzzled and prodded, I eventually looked up, pushing myself with my hands into a squatting position. The wolf in front of me was not the biggest, nor the broadest among them. There was softness around his eyes that spoke of a kind nature, of having seen things but not being affected by them too drastically. I was envious and at the same time awed. He went to lick the blood from my shoulder but I put a hand against his muzzle. I wasn't particularly tiny but my hand was still dwarfed next to his jaw. He whined softly, confused but I didn't offer any explanation. I didn't care what happened to the other wolf who'd caused the injury which was already healing but I didn't want this wolf to face any side effects.

I was still confused. I didn't know why Instinct had put me here or why this wolf was looking at me like I mattered to him, like he saw nothing but me or even why I was standing up with my fingers curled in his sand colored fur. Nothing made sense anymore. I didn't trust these wolves, especially not that reddish-brown one that smelled like Vampire so strongly I wanted to gag and on principle I didn't like the other one that had attacked me. Oddly enough, it was okay. I leaned against my stranger, almost as if to melt into him to hide me from the others, and the circle split open for us as he walked closer to the new wolves. Internally, I squirmed at the thought of having to go anywhere near the reddish-brown wolf or the other female wolf that was glaring daggers at me but if the sand colored wolf was going towards them so was I even if I didn't have a logical reason for it. Instinct had taken me here. After having tried to disobey which created a possibly fatal problem I decided that it was best I just follow and strangely enough, I didn't feel lost anymore but I would have to contemplate that later because the new wolves broke away from the others in a run.

The sand colored wolf nudged my hand, staring up at me expectantly, almost worried as well. I humored him, springing off in the direction of the others because that is what both he and Instinct wanted me to do. He yipped, puppyish, and darted after just me.


End file.
